The Gateway Church (Genesis 28)
September 11, 2022
Then they began to understand the
Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him. —Acts 4:13 - TPT
Genesis 28 shows us the first mention of the “House of God” in scripture, which is one of the ways God describes His church:
Here we see that we were made for
We can look at Jacob’s life and see
And we can see the
We understand the
1. The house that God is building is a
church.
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” —Genesis 28:16-17
A gateway church is made up of gateway believers with a
Gateway believers have an encounter, and
Genesis 28:10-22, Psalm 24, Psalm 102:12-16, Amos 9:11, and John 1:51 are all foundational passages in this truth of a Gateway Church.
10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” —Genesis 28:10-22
2.
were made to be a part of house God is building, the gateway church.
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. —Proverbs 16:9 NLT
Within your heart you can make plans for your future, but the Lord chooses the steps you take to get there. —Proverbs 16:9 TPT
- It might have just seemed like a
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. —Hebrews 13:5
- Jacob wasn’t at a spiritual mountain-top experience when he came to Bethel. He was at a low-point. But it became his
3. 10 Characteristics of the
church. The House of God is:
a. A place of His
b. A place where we
c. A place where heaven invades earth - it’s the gate of heaven. There is an atmosphere unlike anywhere else on earth. Genesis 28:17
d. A place of
e. A place of breakthrough and increase. “Spread aboard” means breakthrough. Genesis 28:14
f. A place of God’s
g. A place of promise. I’ve got some promises to fulfill in your that relate to the heritage you’ve received from your father and grandfather. Genesis 28:13-15
h. A place of
i. A place of divine protection. Genesis 28:20
j. A place of
- Do you see Luz or Bethel? (your life, others, the church)